AAC: UAB
Why to watch: Trent Dilfer at the college level
Since the revival of the program in 2017, the Blazers have gone to five consecutive bowl games, even with Bill Clark stepping down right before the start of last season. Dilfer is an outside-the-box hire for UAB, as he has zero collegiate coaching experience but is still very high profile due to his work with the Elite 11 series and his presence on ESPN and other media. He was very successful at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, but the jump from the high school to the college level is always a big one. The Blazers lead a group of six new schools joining the conference, including North Texas, Rice, UTSA, Charlotte, and FAU.
Mountain West: San Jose State
Why to Watch: Chevan Cordeiro and a wide-open offense
During the COVID season, Brett Brennan and the Spartans emerged onto the national scene, and they’ve been a solid contender in the MWC ever since. This might be their year, though, as they return the best quarterback in the conference and have a favorable schedule with only one tough road matchup at Boise State. Fresno State and San Diego State will always be tough, but I like the Spartans a lot this season.
Sun Belt: James Madison
Why to watch: Bowl Eligible in Year 2
The Dukes came out of the gates like gangbusters in their first year of FBS football, winning their first five games, including a big upset at Appalachian State. Even though they finished 8-4, they were not bowl-eligible because of an arcane rule not allowing them to be eligible for postseason play. They’ve got playmakers on offense at every position and have a great shot of knocking off Coastal Carolina, who may have made the worst hire of any school in the country with Tim Beck.
MAC: Kent State
Why to Watch: New Identity
The Golden Flashes had been one of the best and most consistent MAC programs under Sean Lewis, who left to become the OC at Colorado after they hired Deion Sanders. Quarterback Collin Schlee departed for UCLA and Dante Cephas off to the draft, it’ll be up to Marquez Cooper and Devontez Walker to carry the offense under new coach Kenni Burns, the former Minnesota and North Dakota State assistant.
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CUSA: Jacksonville State
Why to Watch: New Kid on the Block
There are all sorts of realignment going on across the Group of 5 this year, and CUSA is at the center of it. They lose the aforementioned Blazers as well as what feels like half of the rest of the conference. So while they’ve added a couple of other squads from the Sun Belt, they’ve also added Jacksonville State from the FCS ranks. The Gamecocks have been a mainstay of the FCS top 10 for the better part of a decade, and they’ll be looking to make a James Madison-esque jump.
